Foreign baseball players in Japan words lost in translation

It doesn't happen all the time, and sometimes the results are humorous, such as many years ago when a former Lotte batter asked interpreter Toyo Kunimitsu for his batting tee, only to have Kunimitsu ask if he wanted sugar and lemon with it.

A similar misunderstanding recently caused problems for the Hanshin Tigers.

With pitcher Atsushi Nomi on the mound, outfielder Matt Murton made a bad throw on a run-scoring play during a June 9 loss to the Orix Buffaloes. Murton was later asked by reporters if he had tried his best to stop the runner from scoring.

Probably a bit annoyed at the insinuation he wasn't giving his all, Murton was quoted as saying, "I don't like Nomi," in response. It was an innocently sarcastic barb, likely meant to both imply that of course he was giving his all and that he thought the question was silly.

The nuance was lost on the reporters, and Murton was left to explain himself to the team the next day after his remarks were published out of context.